The Bird And The Worm
by Cooper101
Summary: Four kingdoms come together to play The Games Of All. Not just knights play but servants too in their own games. However, Merlin soon finds out that these games are a bit... violent. Can he survive the games and other dangers that threaten Camelot?
1. Games Of All

**I'm back with another story!**

**I promise that it'll get better throughout the story. This is just filling you in of what's going to happen basically.**

**Give it a chance and enjoy!**

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><p>Merlin jumped over a barrel and continued to run. He sprinted for dear life, getting faster and faster. He skidded round a corner and dodged two serving maids, shouting 'sorry' to them as he sprinted off through the castle. He ran up some stairs into the giant castle and almost ended up smashing his face into them. He continued to run. Merlin turned another corner and saw a maid cleaning the floor with water. Merlin tried stop before he reached the wet floor, but couldn't. His feet hit the wet floor. He skidded and spun on the floor, until his feet touched the dry floor at the other end corridor. Merlin continued to run, going round another corridor.<p>

Merlin was running for dear life. Sweat was starting to drip off of him. He had slept in again and now Arthur was going to kill him… Not because he was late to serve Arthur, because he was late to a very, very, very, _extremely _important court meeting. It wasn't just this. Arthur had _ordered _him, _instructed _him to be there and not be late. Merlin had no idea why and Arthur refused to tell him. All Merlin knew was that he was going to die painfully if he was late.

Merlin ran round the back of the courtroom and jogged in from a side entrance. He ran up next to Gaius and tried to gain his breath back. Gaius rolled his eyes at how Merlin was _almost _late. Merlin huffed and puffed, gaining a few odd looks from other court members, but everyone knew how forgetful and idiotic Merlin was, so it was just classed as normal behaviour.

Suddenly, the courtroom doors opened and in walked Uther and Arthur. It had been three months now since Morgana had both taken over Camelot and been defeated.

The two men walked to the end of the room, people bowing as they walked by. They got to the end and Merlin noticed that Uther was smiling. Merlin felt even more scared when Uther smiled and nodded at _him._

"Only a few know what happens at this time of year, every five years. For those of you that don't, I shall tell you. In three days time, the King's best knights and servants of Camelot, Petturi, Féroce and Credulus, shall be joined together for the "Games Of All!" Murmurs of joy and excitement ran through the crowds, but Merlin was still left looking confused. Arthur took a step forward.

"The Games Of All, is a competition where knights fight in a series of competitions to see who's kingdom is the best. However, not just the knights compete. The servants have their own game as well to see who's kingdom has the best servants." Merlin thought that this was ridicules. What were the servants going to do? See who can clean a floor the quickest? Uther carried on for his son.

"Knights shall be competing in normal competitions that knights fight in. The servants, on the other hand, compete differently. Female servants shall sew the best dresses, bake the best cakes, seeing who can carry the most milk through the castle the quickest and so on." Merlin was right. The servants just did stupid things. "The male servants however, shall be competing in sword fights, games of Mixed Ball, long running races, swimming activities, hunting and much more… dangerous things." Merlin's face drained of all colour.

What. The. Hell?

Why are the male servants doing that! That's outrageous... What's Mixed Ball anyway? Who cares! He'll die playing it anyway! No way is Merlin doing any of that stuff. He'll just stay out of sight and pray for a miracle…

"The two servants that shall be in charge of the servants for Camelot shall be my own servant Dennis – who shall be in complete control – and… Merlin…" A few people spoke when Merlin's name was mentioned. Merlin was frozen in shock. He was right In the middle of _everything, _with a mad man_._ He was destined to die.

This was very bad news.

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><p>People of the court flooded out of the room. Merlin dodged around them, leaving Gaius far behind. He searched for the one person he needed to speak to desperately. Suddenly, Gwaine and Percival blocked Merlin's path<em>. No, Sir Gwaine and Sir Percival.<em>

"Isn't this great Merlin!" Gwaine exclaimed. "You get to show off your skills… If you have any."

"Plus, we get to bash people's heads in for the glory of it. I hope they have a 'Who's the strongest' competition," Percival said excitedly. The two knights were a lot happier about this than Merlin was. Gwaine slapped the man on the back.

"Don't worry mate. If there isn't, then I'll set one up at the Tavern for ya." Percival smiled and Merlin caught Dennis's eye.

"Yah, that's great guys, really cool. I just, gotta go," and with that, Merlin was running off.

Merlin jogged after Dennis, calling his name. The servant turned round and smiled at Merlin. Dennis was taller than Merlin and older. He had been serving the King for ten years nearly now, and he still looked good for his age. He had black hair with small hints of grey that went just past his ears, his haircut looking quite a bit like Gwaine's. His face looked good for his age, but then, no one knew how old he was. Thirty? Forty? If he was fifty then he was very good for his age. He was quite muscular and was known for being smart… a bit of a mad man too. Everyone knew that he acted different around the king from when he was with the servants. However, from time to time, that fake cover would disappear and the King would see his servant for the cocky man that he was. Most servants looked up to Dennis and Merlin could never blame them, as he did too.

"Ah, Merlin, come to talk about the games have we?" He was smiling like a loony and Merlin knew there and then that he had been in the games before.

"Why do I have to be in the middle of it? More importantly, with you? No offence," Merlin added on the end. Dennis slapped his arm friendly.

"You're Prince Arthur's servant and I'm King Uther's. They're the top dogs, meaning we are the top dogs for the servants. We have access to parts of those men that other servants don't –"

"But –"

"Look, I'll see you in my chambers." _What chambers? _Merlin thought. "Also, take the luxuries whilst they last," the mysterious servant added, walking away. _Luxuries? What's luxurious about this!_

Suddenly, Merlin felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Arthur. Merlin opened his mouth to say something, but Arthur raised his hand to silence him.

"Merlin. Listen well to what I say. These games are violent and… slightly inhuman at times and my father will not accept coming second for a second time running. Camelot shall come first in the servant's games, so do as Dennis says." Arthur turned to walk away, but turned back and added: "Also, you and Dennis have been given some chambers of your own whilst the games are on. They are the servant quarters and yours have been put next to Dennis's… I've also put your name on a piece of paper and stuck it to the door of your chambers, just in case you choose the wrong one." Now, Arthur walked off. Merlin smiled.

That was quite good news.

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><p>Merlin knocked on the door to Dennis's chambers. A voice from inside beckoned him in. Merlin walked into the room to see Dennis sitting in a chair, feet up on a desk with papers with names on them. Merlin guessed that they were the names of servants. Not looking up from a paper he was holding, Dennis gestured Merlin to take a seat. Merlin walked across the room and sat down.<p>

Dennis put the paper down.

"Right, sadly, you and I are stuck in the middle of all this. We gotta work out a plan. Any questions before we start?"

"Yah, what's Mixed Ball?" Merlin asked.

"You have a ball and two teams. One team must score by kicking the ball over a pole, touching it past the try line or shooting it through a hoop. So must the other team, but in the opponents score zone. You can kick the ball, run with the ball, throw it to others, and bounce it, whatever works best for you. We'll go through this more later… We'll probably fail at this as Féroce always ruins our plans." Merlin leaned in close and poked the table.

"Then we'll have to create a plan for when they ruin our original plan." Dennis eyed Merlin after he said that. Dennis then leaned over the table.

"I think you might have been born for these games Merlin," he said. Merlin snorted, knowing that Dennis was joking. However, he wasn't. Merlin's face fell.

"Seriously?"

"Yep," he popped the 'p'. Merlin tilted his head, as if he was thinking about something.

"At least we have three days to get ready for all this. Starting right now with who's doing what?" Merlin asked.

"Yep," he popped the 'p' again. "And its two days."

"Three," Merlin insisted. Dennis snorted.

"Like I'm starting training today… Too bloody lazy to do that."

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><p><strong>Mixed Ball is a mixture of netball, rugby, football and basketball.<strong>

**If there are any questions, just asked.**

_**Up next is training for all of the competitions plus the other kings, knights and servants arriving(This is going to be such hell for Merlin I can tell you now)!**_

**Please review!**


	2. Training and arriving

**Worked hard to get this up and done. Hope you enjoy.**

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><p><em>Day 1...<em>

"Right, we are going to start off with sword fighting. This will be the hardest for you all... especially Merlin," shouted Dennis. All of the male servants laughed except Merlin. He sat on the floor, in the middle, at the front of all the servants, staring up at Dennis. Dennis and he had all the servants knowing what competitions that they were doing... Sadly, for Merlin, he was in nearly every single one.

Dennis picked up a sword and swung it in a full circle.

"With the sword fighting, you are doing everything as the knights do. However, we will be in front of the Kings..." Murmurs went round the group. The nobles never watched the servants. "Also, you shall be wearing a hood and mask so no one knows who you are... until after the fight when you show yourself." A few of the younger servants around Merlin's age were starting to be excited about the idea. "Sadly, only the best will do the real fighting."

"On the other hand, none of you know how to fight," Merlin said looking around at the. "So we'll have to teach you what we can," Merlin said, finally staring into Dennis's eyes.

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><p>The elderly woman walked down the muddy road, hood low over her face. Water dripped from the trees, a sign that it had rained not long ago. Sunshine was beating down on her as she left footprints behind her in the muddy ground. Suddenly, two men stepped in her way. She stopped walking.<p>

"Shouldn't be out all alone should we Grandma?" one said.

"Might get hurt," sneered another. The woman stared past them.

"Mozgassa az útból," hissed the woman like a snake. Both men looked at one another. The woman raised her hood.

The men's screams, echoed for eternity.

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><p>They had been practising sword fighting for nearly five hours straight and he still hadn't improved. The sun was beating down on him and even though he was hot, he was not bothered about how he wasn't getting any better. For the past five hours, Dennis had been keeping a very close eye on Merlin.<p>

"Merlin," he called, walking over to the young raven-haired boy. "What are you doing wrong?" he questioned, clasping his hands on Merlin's shoulders from behind.

Merlin sighed. "The sword is heavy, so I'm not holding it high enough. Plus I'm too slow and doing nearly _everything _wrong," was his reply. Dennis shook his head, taking his hands off Merlin's shoulders.

"No. You are you, and you have been told that you are terrible with a sword, meaning that you think and feel terrible with a sword," Dennis explained, stabbing his sword into the ground.

"I don't understand."

"Thought so. Long story short, you think you're terrible with a sword, so you _are_. Make up someone totally different and pretend that you are them. It's how I fight so well."

"By pretending you're someone who can fight? And if you pretend to be someone who _can _fight then you will be able to fight just as well as that person you thought of?" Merlin asked, slightly unsure of the idea.

"Yah," Dennis said, walking away backwards. "Name, age, past, dreams – everything."

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><p><em>Day 2...<em>

Merlin walked backwards towards the end of the field, covered in mud from almost head to toe. They had been playing a game of Mixed Ball for nearly two hours now and Merlin had been tired after the first ten minutes of the game. Every inch of his body screamed for him to stop playing and just _die. _The field – Merlin guessed – was about 80 meters long and 50 meters wide. In a game, you need twenty people on each team, but since they only had one team of twenty, they played ten on ten. They were playing quite a way away from the castle, so they didn't kick the ball through one of the windows.

A servant, Robert, ran towards his goal, the goal Merlin was meant to be protecting. Robert was taller and stronger than Merlin, but not faster. As the servant was about to run past him, Merlin grabbed hold of the ball and tripped Robert up. The older servant fell onto the dirt, sliding a meter or two away from Merlin because of how slippy it was. From the force of Robert slipping over, Merlin spun round to the right twice before he stood still again. However, Merlin was not dizzy from the spinning. He heard Dennis, who was on his team, shout for him to kick down the field to him. Merlin looked at the ball in his hands then up at the goal.

Merlin dropped the ball.

He kicked it.

_Smash!_

The sound of breaking glass echoed across Camelot.

All the players on the field stopped and stared at the window that Merlin had just broken. They were very far way away from the castle – very, very far away – and Merlin had just kicked the ball through a window!

A servant with blonde hair named George came up to Merlin and slapped him on the back.

"Nice kick mate... But next time, don't aim for the window," he said, staring at the broken window. Merlin turned to face the servant. He groaned and flopped face first into the mud on the ground. Merlin lay still... probably not breathing.

Dennis sighed.

"Come on," he said, getting Merlin to his feet. Dennis and George dragged Merlin across the field towards the castle, preparing their excuses to Uther as they went.

Merlin couldn't move his legs because they refused to move. Merlin told them to move and carry his light body weight, but they refused. Therefore, Dennis and George had to carry him all the way to the castle. They got to the steps of the castle and Merlin's legs finally agreed to carry his own weight. They walked through the castle, mud dripping off them as they went.

George ran round the corner.

"I took the short cut, he's not in his chambers or the hall, or anywhere else," the young servant breathed deeply from running all over the castle.

"Then where the bloody hell is he? Why does this man always have to be a pain in the – " Dennis was cut off by some serving girls running down the corridor. Merlin noticed Gwen.

"Gwen," he said grabbing her arm and stopping her. "What's going on?" he questioned. Gwen shook her head.

"They're here. The people of Féroce have arrived." Gwen got free of Merlin's grasp and ran off. Merlin's face was emotionless as he turned to face Dennis. The group of servants walked towards the edge and looked out over the courtyard.

Men and woman in blue moved towards the castle, some on horses and many on foot. Uther and Arthur walked down the steps to greet the other King. The King of Féroce was a tall man with a brown beard and hair. He rode a white horse with pride. He stopped his horse and jumped off, his leather boots hitting the stone ground harshly. Servants rushed to grab the man's horse as he walked towards Uther. Both Kings grabbed one another's hands and shook. Uther scanned the servants.

"Glad to see your servants looking fierce as ever," Uther commented.

"Glad to see your servants looking... Creepy, as ever," commented the King. Uther looked round and followed the King's gaze. Every servant was leaning over a ledge, out of a window or stood still somewhere in the courtyard and was blankly staring at their rivals. Somehow, it was quite easy to tell that Dennis and Merlin were in charge of Camelot's servants.

"... Agreed," said Uther. "Don't just stand there! Get ready! We've got a feast tonight and you lot are meant to be kicking these losers back sides at the games!" roared Uther. Every servant scrambled away but Dennis, Merlin and George.

"It's good to see you again Uther."

"You too Wymer," Uther said smiling.

"My servants couldn't borrow your field could they? They would just like some last minute practice at Mixed Ball." Uther nodded and raised his arm, telling the servants which way the field was.

Wymer looked up. "Why is that window broken?"

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><p>Another man slammed into a fellow player, knocking him to the ground mercilessly. Merlin, Dennis and George winced, knowing that that must have hurt. Merlin leaned on a tall stick as the three watched the men from Féroce play Mixed Ball.<p>

"They're bloody brutes," George said, as one man just was picked up and flung over a player's shoulders, colliding with the ground harshly.

"Are they even allowed to play that rough?" Merlin questioned, really not liking the look of this game anymore.

"Afraid so," Dennis said and Merlin gulped very loudly.

"Well, their kingdom isn't called fierce for nothing," Merlin said, watching the stronger men play. Dennis turned to Merlin.

"Last time I checked, they were called Féroce."

"Yah. That's French for fierce," Merlin said.

"Ah... You speak French?" Merlin nodded. "... Never knew that... Guess you do learn something every day." Dennis looked over at some of Camelot's servant. "Merlin, go get two more swords, one for me, one for you." Merlin nodded and jogged off.

Merlin jumped over some boxes and hurried off to the armoury. However, he wasn't looking where he was going and slammed into a very tall and muscular person. He fell backwards and hit the ground hard. Merlin looked up at the figure that he had just run into. He was tall with muddy brown hair and sharp black eyes.

"Watch it, Worm," sneered the taller man.

"S-S-S- Sorry," Merlin stuttered. He climbed to his feet. Merlin went to run off, but the big man blocked his path. Merlin went to turn round and run off, but some of the big man's friends stepped in his way.

"You're a Camelot servant, aren't ya?" Merlin nodded, too scared to answer. "Well, I'm from Petturi, I think you should know that since I'm gonna be the one pounding your face into the _dirt _when playing these games..." _Man, this guy has it in for me, _Merlin thought. Suddenly, the man grabbed Merlin and raised his fist. Merlin closed his eyes awaiting for the blow.

"Hey! Leave our mate alone," Merlin looked behind him to see Gwaine and Lancelot. Merlin scrubbed free of the man's grip and run over to them.

"That's it, run and hide. The Bird's gonna get ya, Worm." The man and his friends walked off. The three watched them go.

"Made some friends Merlin?"

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><p>The man that had tried to hurt Merlin earlier lay on his bed. He stared at the ceiling. He didn't want to attend the feast in fear that he might try and kill the boy again. He sighed and stood up.<p>

_You have to _go _Mavis…_

Mavis was his name and he hated it, but loved it at the same time when _she _said his name. He looked to his left to see the old woman standing there.

"Don't worry; I'll make sure the boy won't interfere with your plan… Although, do tell me when I can _kill _him." With that, he left for the feast.

_Mavis = Song Bird…_

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><p><strong>I've used about four different languages in this story. Let me know if you can see them all.<strong>

**I feel as if I rushed this chapter, but I hope I haven't. Any questions then do ask.**

**Next up: Merlin gets into the first games and are lovely friend Mavis tries to make Merlin feel more like a worm.**

**Please review!**


	3. Running and Mixed Ball

**Hi everyone!**

**Updates will be a little slower due to the fact that I'm away with barely any internet.**

**Enjoy the third chapter!**

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><p>Merlin stood at one end of the pitch along with Dennis and George. They watched as people from Camelot, Petturi, Féroce and Credulus ran down the track made for the servants. The servant's first game was the Running Race, which involved twenty-three races and twenty-three servants from each kingdom (all male, of course). The servants crossed the line again, which symbolized that the twenty-second race was over, and time for the twenty-third.<p>

Problem was… Merlin was running in this race.

"Don't worry," Dennis said, slapping Merlin on the back… Hard. "If there's one thing I know you're brilliant at its running away from scary things." Merlin looked at Dennis blankly.

"Thanks," he said turning and looking over at the man who had tried to punch him yesterday. He pretended to cut his own throat then pointed at Merlin. "I think."

"That the friend I've heard about, Merlin?" George asked, swinging his sword over his shoulder. "Looks like a lovely fellow."

"I'm racing that." Merlin said, still looking at the other man. George turned to Dennis.

"I'm off, got to get good seats if I want to watch Merlin be pounded into the dirt." George quickly scurried off to the little stands that the servants had made. Merlin huffed and sat down like a little kid on the grass. Dennis kneeled down beside him.

"Look, he's big, you'll beat him easy," Dennis said, trying to be reassuring.

"I've seen him run, he's far faster," Merlin sulked. Dennis smiled.

"Just leave everything to my brilliant plan, Merlin." Merlin turned to Dennis."Are you going to _cheat_?" .

Dennis shrugged.

"No rule saying I can't," he smiled. He nudged Merlin. "Oh come on Merlin. No one wins these games by playing fair, never have." He laughed. "Anyway, you are the best at running away from _scary things…_" Dennis got up and wondered off. Merlin gulped loudly.

He did not like that sound of 'scary things'.

Merlin got up and walked over to the starting line. He lined up along with the other three runners. The man that had tried to hurt Merlin the day before glared at him, and Merlin felt even more nervous. Merlin tried to look ahead and not at the man. He tried to block out the thought of Dennis's plan. Merlin looked ahead and thought only of the race. Run to those barrels and back, winner is the one who crosses the line first. Simple… If only Merlin was fast. Merlin stared ahead and focused. Merlin heard servants cheering for their kingdoms, cheering for the servants… Cheering for him. It felt good to be cheered on. Merlin almost likes all this… Almost. Merlin heard the countdown begin.

_Three…_

Merlin heard something behind him… Barking?

_Two…_

Merlin looked behind him to see Dennis leaning over a wooden box, smiling gleefully, and, running towards him, a big black dog. Teeth sharp with foam coming out of its mouth and eyes looking ready for a kill. And Merlin was the kill.

_One…_

Merlin ran.

He sprinted ahead of everyone else, as the dog barked viciously at him. The dog ran past the other runners and ran straight for Merlin, who was running anywhere as long as it was away from the dog. He reached the barrels before anyone else did and jumped straight over them… As did the dog. Merlin ran round the barrels and started running back to the finish line. He looked up and saw the one thing that he needed to get to and fast. Merlin picked up his speed, gave it everything he got and just ran. Sadly, for Merlin, the dog decided to run faster too. Merlin could hear the other servants cheering him on, shouting his name, crying out to him to run faster. Merlin didn't ignore those cries, he did as the asked.

Merlin crossed the line. The crowd of servants cheered. The other competitors crossed the line, huffing and puffing and coming to a stop. However, Merlin wasn't with the other racers. Dennis smiled as he looked over at Merlin.

"_DENNIS_!" screamed the young warlock. Dennis laughed at the sight of Merlin. The dog barked at him and Merlin climbed higher up the tree. He looked just like a cat.

Dennis was right; Merlin was the best at running from scary things.

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><p>Lancelot blocked the sword with his shield, spun round and hit the man on the leg. Gwaine then smashed his shield into the man's face, sending him backwards to the floor. The two were fighting in a Double Sword Battle. They were up against two knights from Féroce and they weren't the easiest of people to beat.<p>

As Gwaine knocked the other man down to the ground, he hoped thatMerlin was having an easier time.

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><p>Merlin. Was. Dying.<p>

Another man from Féroce smashed into him, sending him flying to the ground. Mud splashed up all over Merlin's face. He coughed some out of his mouth and tried to get quickly to his feet. The game of Mixed Ball had been going on for about half an hour now, and Merlin already felt like falling to the ground and crying because of the fact that every part of his body screamed with agony. He was more exhausted that the trial game they had played before the Kingdom had arrived. Merlin got up and ran after the other player. Merlin darted in front of him and snatched the ball out of his hands. Before Merlin knew what was happening, six players on the other team were piling on top of him. Merlin moved about under the men and managed to stick his head out from under them all. Crying out for help, the referee shouted out that the game was paused, until everyone got off Merlin. After six heavy men hand climbed off poor Merlin, he stood up. He looked down at his clothes to see every inch of himself covered in mud. He then looked up at the sky and sighed, shaking his head.

On the sidelines, Gwen walked past many servants until she saw Percival and her brother, Elyan. They were chatting and commenting on the game. Gwen was quite surprised that they actually cared about what was going on with the servant's games. With a few steps, Gwen was part of the conversation.

"Hello Elyan, Percival - wouldn't have thought you two would be watching this" she said, resting her basket that had some bread cheese and wine in it from some serving girls for Dennis and Merlin. The pair had become very popular with all the serving girls and because she was Merlin's friend, she was the perfect person to give the gifts.

"This is Merlin, Gwen, we have to watch," Elyan said innocently, which Gwen did not like.

"He's our friend; we should be there to cheer him on!" Percival paused. "And help drag his lifeless body off the field," he said grinning.

"What are you talking about?" Gwen asked. However, just as she asked, two big men ran past Merlin, one on either side of him. Just as they ran past, they anged against Merlin, flattening him. As the men bounced off him, Merlin flew after them backwards, landing viciously on the ground. Merlin wasn't moving. Gwen's hand flew to her mouth as Percival and Elyan ran onto the field and picked Merlin up then dragging him off. The referee called everyone off the pitch and the other two teams flooded on.

Elyan and Percival let go of Merlin to see if he could stand, but he fell, clinging onto a barrel for support. Camelot's team gulped down water and cleaned their faces.

"Did we... Did we win?" he gasped between breaths. Why was he finding it hard to breathe?

"No, it's a draw," said Dennis, kneeling down beside him. "0 – 0, thanks to our great defence..." He looked down. "We suck at attack big time," he whispered. Gwen placed the basket on the barrel.

"Some serving girls wished me to give you this," she said, taking off the blanket on top to reveal the bread, cheese and wine.

"Cheers Gwen love," Dennis said picking up the wine and getting the cork out. "Just what I need," he stared gulping it down. Gwen stared at him mouth open and after a while Dennis noticed. "Sorry, do you want some?"

"Maybe I didn't make myself clear-"

"No you didn't."

"This is for you _and _Merlin."

"Merlin's happy with just the bread and cheese"

"What makes you say that?" Gwen said throwing her hands in the air.

"Cuz he's almost half way through the cheese," he said, knocking back the wine again. Gwen looked down at Merlin.

"Merlin!" she said, looking at Merlin, who was holding cheese in both hands and trying to chew a massive mouthful. He looked up at her, feeling very small.

"Porry, hould poo hike hum?" he asked, holding up a handful of cheese.

"No! Just..." Merlin forgot about Gwen the second she said 'no' and went back to eating the cheese. Dennis sighed and walked up to Gwen.

"Look, lady, I get the girls and he gets the gifts, unless its wine cuz that's mine... Hey, did that rhyme?" Dennis asked, smiling cheekily.

"I hink so," Merlin said between a mouthful, looking up for a moment. Behind Gwen, Percival and Elyan were trying to control their laughter. Gwen flew her hands up completely, walking over to a box and sat down on it. Dennis smiled. Another worry out of the picture.

"Right, listen up," Dennis called out to his team. "We and the enemy are drawing. To save time, the other two teams are playing now then we will play Féroce again, but this time we will win. We will be as brutal as they are – knock them off their feet – be quicker than they are, we are already fast enough. We just got to focus 90% on defending and 10% on attacking –"

"Shouldn't we focus more on attacking?" questioned Merlin.

"No, Merlin. If we drop the percentage any lower we can kiss our chances of winning goodbye and – stop eating all the bread and cheese! You'll be sick you twit!"

"But I'm hungry, missed breakfast."

"I don't care just quite it! Merlin you really are –"

_An hour later of Dennis shouting at Merlin..._

"- And this is why I can't believe you sometimes!" Dennis finished shouting, just in time for their game. "Right, everyone remember, we only need to score one point and we have won. Let's go!" called Dennis.

Camelot's team flooded onto the field. Merlin was last to get on. He didn't like this game what so ever. It was foul, eviler than Morgana, painful, hell itself and many other explicit things that Merlin thought about the game. He stood near the other end, by his team's goal post. He stood about a quarter of the field away from the goal and got ready for hell to start again. The referee held his hand up and then dropped it.

The game started it.

Men from Féroce smashed into Camelot's team. Merlin saw out of the corner of his eye, Gwen looking quite shocked at the sight of the game, and then fear for her friends and fellow servants. Merlin knew what was going on in her mind. She feared for him the most because he was 'not as strong as everyone else'. That was Gwen's nice way of saying 'You're weak' (the way Arthur and Dennis put it). Merlin sighed as he watched some of Camelot's servants tackle the other team's players, but failed, meaning they were able to run up the pitch and try to score... Meaning Merlin had to 'try' and defend. Merlin took two steps to the right and got ready to tackle the giant man. The man ran straight into Merlin, knocking him flying to the floor. He didn't move for a second, but then looked up at the man who was running off towards the goal.

Merlin got to his feet and started running at the man. He had seen Dennis and other servants tackle people, why can't he?

Merlin ran right up to the man and lunged himself and the man. Merlin slammed into the man, only to be pushed backwards a second later. He went backwards and landed on his butt hard, but he also caused the man to drop the ball.

"No Merlin! Don't even think about tackling!" cried Elyan.

"This game is about strength, and you have none!" shouted Percival.

"You have no manliness what so ever! Do not try to do the manly things! You are weak, weak! Don't attempt things that are out of your league!"

"You will die! You are weak!"

"Elyan! Percival!" Gwen said, shocked. "What are you doing?"

"Encouraging our friend to do the right thing," Elyan said, as if it is obvious.

"Yah, we'd like him to come out of this alive you know," Percival commented, carrying on for Elyan. Gwen looked at them and shook her head.

"Come on Merlin! You can win this! Come on!" she stared to shout.

As soon as Elyan and Percival saw Merlin starting to get up, they started to tackle Gwen and cover her mouth to shut her up, but she kicked, fussed and did not shut up. Merlin heard Gwen's cries and started to get up. He saw the ball and the other player picking it up. Merlin charged at the man, catching him off guard, so Merlin was able to knock him to the ground. As soon as he was down, the other player let go of the ball, and as quickly as he was on the man, Merlin was off him and reaching for the ball. He picked it up, the mud on it spreading all over his hands. Merlin looked at the goal then at the ball then at all the players running towards him. He was never going to make it past them all. He breathed in deep and dropped the ball...

He kicked it...

The ball went flying...

It went over the goal...

The servants cheered as Camelot had won...

_Smash!_

The sound of breaking glass echoed across Camelot...

"MERLIN! Same window twice!" cried Dennis in frustration.

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><p>"Are you sure he can kick it from this far away? It does seem a bit... Impossible," said King Cordon, King of Credulus.<p>

"I don't know about anyone else, but if you are telling the truth, and he can kick it through a window from this far away, I won't throw you in the stocks for hours upon end," sighed King Vern, King of Petturi. All four Kings nodded in agreement.

"Look, we are telling the truth," said George. "We weren't playing too close to the castle. We were playing here and this is where Merlin kicked it from" he explained, trying his best to look like he wasn't scared of their all mighty power over his, and others lives. Dennis nodded towards Merlin to kick the ball.

Merlin looked quickly at all four Kings. Uther wasn't impressed to see him in the middle of all the trouble as ever. Wymer had tamed his once very wild beard and cut his hair slightly. His dark blue eyes were on Merlin, waiting for him to kick the ball. Cordon was a tall man with dark brown hair, combed neatly back. His orange uniform that symbolized Credulus stood out more than Camelot's red. Vern's grey, old hair was left to hang around his shoulders, seeking desperate attention and help. His grey coat of arms went perfectly with the rest of his lifeless glow.

Merlin dropped the ball…

He kicked it…

_Smash!_

The sound of breaking glass echoed across Camelot.

All four Kings stared in wonder at the broken window then at Merlin. George walked up to Merlin.

"You've hit that window _three _times now Merlin… What did that window ever do to you?" he questioned, looking up at it in wonder.

"I don't know… Maybe it's something to do with the fact that it's Morgana's old window…"

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><p><strong>What did you think? Shall I put this story down as humor?<strong>

**Review please?**


	4. Hunting the worm

**Guess by the name for this chapter what happens... With a funny moment at the end.**

**Enjoy and review!**

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><p>Merlin scanned the forest ground for any sign of animal life, hoping that he could find something easy to catch. The game had started half an hour ago and he only had an hour and a half to go before he had to return to Camelot's gates with every dead animal that he had caught. Sun crawled through the trees; lighting up the forest and making the damp area seem a lot less unhappy. Merlin had deliberately come to an area that he knew. It had once been a secret area that no one had known about, until one day he, Arthur and the knights had come along hunting. Merlin had decided that Mixed Ball could not be a worse game and neither was sword fighting.<p>

The worst, was hunting.

Merlin knew that he had the upper hand in this game, because he and Arthur hunted in the woods of Camelot all the time, and surprisingly enough, Merlin had come to learn some things about where to find which animal and a little bit about tracking them... A _little_ bit. The young Warlock had never been the best at hunting, mainly because he did not have the heart to kill the animals, which he was going to have to do. Merlin sighed as he moved a bit closer in the direction he though he saw a dear go. He didn't like that fact that he was going to have to kill it, but if he wanted to win the game, he would have too. He jumped down off a log into a small clearing. The sun shone down nicely in this one particular area, and Merlin took a moment to bathe in the sun's warm glow. Merlin walked forward a bit more, so he was nearly in the middle of the clearing where there was the most sun.

Something caught Merlin's eye.

Merlin snapped round to where he saw something move. It was just was like a shadow, but it moved and it moved fast. He started for a moment, trying to see it again. _Snap, _went a branch somewhere from behind Merlin. He quickly turned round, trying to see the animal. _Snap, snap, snap, _went more branches from somewhere on Merlin's left. The young Warlock turned, trying to keep up with where the animal was. Whatever it was, it was circling him, circling him, before it makes its attack. _Snap... Snap... Snap, snap, _went twigs from Merlin's right. Violently, he turned desperately to stare into the darkness of the bush, seeking for any signs of what animal may be watching him.

Suddenly, a baby dear, burst out of the bushes and ran towards Merlin. It calmed its speed and stopped at Merlin's feet, sniffing his shoes, not afraid. Sighing relaxingly, Merlin kneeled down and stroked the baby calf's head. Despite the Games Of All, having to hunt and do other crazy tasks, Merlin suddenly felt as if everything around him had slowed down and stopped for him. Merlin stroked the calf under the chin, where its whole body sloped down into him. The dear wasn't scared of him at all. However, as Merlin stared into the calf's eyes, he knew that the calf wasn't just not scared of him...

It was dead...

The young Warlock dropped the animals head and it slumped towards the floor. A knife was half way into the back of the calf's head. Merlin jumped up and backed away, hand to his mouth.

"Seems you've found my kill," said a voice from the shadows. "And it seems I've found another," the stranger said, stepping out into the light. It was Maris. Fear suddenly gripped Merlin, as he knew the man wasn't afraid to kill.

Maris ran at Merlin, slamming into his body and forcing him backwards until Merlin's back collided with a tree. The thin tree rattled and shacked, causing leaves to tumble to the ground, dancing around the two men like butterflies. Maris then grabbed Merlin's collar and threw him to the floor face first. Merlin looked up and saw the calf's dead body, looking blurry because of Merlin's sight. Blood trickled down slowly out of Merlin's nose. Maris grabbed Merlin by his jacket and swung him up against the tree, about a foot off the ground.

"Listen here Worm, you stay out of my Grandmother's way and I might kill you quickly," said the beast of a man, pointing one short, fat finger at his bleeding nose.

"Maris means Song Bird, and you call me Worm. You're the predator and I'm the prey. You're the hunter and I'm the dear... You're the bird and I'm the worm," Merlin said, trying to think of a way out of this. The bird always eats the worm.

"Yah, you got it," he said, thrusting Merlin painfully up the tree higher. "And if you dare lay a finger of harm on my Grandmother, I will make your death the slowest and most painfullest death that there ever was, okay?" he said threateningly.

"Okay," Merlin said, nodding his head fiercely. Maris dropped him to the floor; his butt hit the solid ground with a hard _thud_. Merlin watched as Maris picked up the calf's lifeless body and slung it over his shoulder as if it was a rucksack.

Merlin sat there for a while, thinking about everything Maris had just said.

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><p>Merlin burst into Dennis's room without knocking. He had come straight from the hunting game with nothing, but didn't care one bit. He couldn't kill an animal like Arthur could. He was a farming boy, not a hunting one. Dennis looked up from his papers and studied Merlin.<p>

"Arthur's right, you never knock."

"I want out in these games," demanded Merlin

"You look like you've run into a brick wall then rolled down a muddy hill," replied Dennis

"I don't want any more of this, banish me from Camelot for all I care."

"Did the hunting go well?"

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Take that as a no... No, I'm not listening to you."

"But you just answered my question so you must have!" Merlin said, throwing his arms in the air in frustration. "I. Want. Out!"

"You. Can't. Have. Out!" Dennis said, mocking Merlin. Merlin stared at him blankly.

"I want out, Dennis. I'm battered, I'm bruised and I'm tired. I just don't care for these... stupid games anymore, I hadn't from the beginning. I just don't understand why I have to be at the centre of it all just because I'm Arthur's servant. I mean, next you'll be telling me I have to sword fight as well," he said staring at Dennis, his deep blue eyes burrowing into him. Dennis sighed.

"Merlin, as Arthur's servant you've got a duty to Camelot and this comes into it. I know you're battered, I know you're bruised and I know you're tired. However, you've fought bravely by Arthur's side in... Far worse things - the dragon, the troll, the goblin, Morgana and being accused of magic numerous of times, just to name a few. You've survived all that, why not this?" Dennis said meaningfully. Merlin slightly and couldn't believe what he had just heard. The bravest servant, the maddest man (tying with many of the knights), the cheekiest monster (tying with Gwaine) and a woman magnet from heaven... had just said something wise. "And anyway, look at all the gifts we get as a pair," he said, nodding to a pile of bread, cheeses, fruit, flowers and many empty wine bottles. "Oh, and you do have to sword fight." Merlin went red.

"The women get an easier job!"

"Go be a woman then and go do their job then!" Dennis roared back.

"FINE!" Merlin shouted his reply before storming out of the room.

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><p>Merlin whisked faster and faster at the cream. He had been doing it for the past ten minutes and he couldn't feel his wrist any more. He wiped his brow and checked on the chicken quickly. Seeing it doing fine, he gave the cream to a maid and started on the strawberries... which he was meant to have started on around five minutes ago. He chopped them neatly, but quickly. He then carried them over to another maid to put them on a cake. He then dodged back to the chicken. Merlin took it out carefully and placed it on a kitchen surface. A maid rushed over and took it away. He then walked over to the cake again and started to help put the icing on it. Finishing his side of the cake, Merlin made his way over to another work surface in the kitchen to help Gwen cut up a bunch of herbs.<p>

"Twenty minutes!" a voice boomed over the kitchen. The serving maids started to work faster. Merlin turned to Gwen.

"It take it back, you're games are harder and I'm not just saying that because I can't cook! I get battered and bruised and you're under an unbelievable amount of stress!" Merlin hissed at her as he tried not to cut his fingers with the sharp blade. Suddenly, the head chef slapped Merlin round the head.

"Less talking more cooking," she instructed fierily.

Merlin went straight back to work, deep in thought about what Maris had said... and swearing never to offer to help with the girl's games again.

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><p><strong>Before you ask, we have met Maris's Grandmother, but I haven't said that she is his Grandmother, and Merlin hasn't met her either so knew nothing of what Maris was saying.<strong>

**The action kicks off in the next chapter…**

**Review please!**


	5. A snake's plan

**Here's the next chapter.**

**I **_**personally **_**think that it isn't as good as the rest (someone's going to say that I'm wrong).**

**This is just filling a gap.**

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><p>Lancelot walked through the nearly empty courtyard humming a happy tune of victory. He had turned down Gwaine's offer of going to the Tavern with him and the others simply because it was the servant's sword fighting competition and he wanted to get himself and the others some good seats to cheer on Merlin. Unlike the Gwaine, Percival, Elyan and Arthur, he wanted to get good seats to <em>cheer <em>Merlin on not _watch _him be _beaten _into the dirt. Leon had backed him up on that, but still wanted to go to the Tavern. Who could blame him; Gwaine was paying and actually giving over the money this time. He was walking down the steps as the sun was starting to set when he heard giggling. He turned to where the noise had come from and smiled before sighing and shaking his head slowly.

A bunch of serving girls had cornered Merlin and were endlessly tryin to flirt with him. Lancelot knew Merlin needed saving as the tips of his big ears were turning a rosy pink red. Lancelot walked over wondering how the boy had become so popular with the girls so quickly. Everyone had noticed, and Gwaine was getting jealous, which every knight that knew found hilarious.

Lancelot reached the group.

"Ladies, sorry to interrupt, but I need to borrow Merlin from you," he said smoothly, not to anger any of the women. Moreover, women anger easily. Merlin smiled and jumped through the group. The serving girls sighed and departed back to their jobs as Merlin and Lancelot walked away down a corridor by the courtyard.

"Thanks Lancelot, I needed to get away. Dennis normally does it for me, but he's at the hall for the feast."

Lancelot frowned. "There's a feast?" Lancelot asked, knowing nothing of this.

"Yah, to celebrate how well the games are going and the fact that no one has died yet. And it's a full moon tonight did you know?"

"What is it with you and full moons?" Lancelot asked. Merlin shrugged.

"I was born under one, so I guess they have always fascinated me. I've nearly read every book on them in the castle library," Merlin said proudly, a wide and stupid grin spreading across his pale face. Lancelot laughed lightly and shook his head.

"You need a hobby Merlin."

"I've read a lot about snakes and wolves, and kittens are just _adorable_," he said, jumping excitedly for just a second.

"A _decent _hobby."

"Magic," Merlin whispered, smile growing wider. Lancelot sighed.

"A _decent _and_ legal_ hobby Merlin."

"Oh," the boy's face blanked. "Well, I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon," he said, not happy that he was going to have to get a normal hobby. Merlin doesn't exactly like normal things. They're too... Normal.

Suddenly a clang came from down the corridor. Merlin only just noticed that they had stopped walking a while back. At the end of a corridor was what looked like an old woman who seemed to have dropped a big metal ball that had made the clang noise. The woman turned round to see that Merlin and Lancelot had seen what had happened and she started to scuffle away. Lancelot and Merlin gave chase after the woman.

They turned the corner to see the woman turning another one at the end of the corridor. How could the woman move so fast? Running down the corridor, Merlin sensed a great deal of magic nearby and guessed that it was the woman that they were chasing. An uncomfortable feeling swirled inside Merlin as they neared the old lady. They turned a final corner and almost toppled into the woman.

"_A tervem nem lehet megállítani__..." _The woman hissed at them like a snake. Lancelot drew his sword. Merlin looked under the hood and tried to see the woman's face.

"_Ön Maris nagymamája__," _Merlin hissed back in the strange language that she spoke. Lancelot sighed, rolling his eyes. Something else Merlin can do that's probably illegal, again.

"_Igen,__" _hissed the woman.

"Merlin... Stop talking in that strange language... You're sort of starting to scare me," Lancelot whispered. He didn't like not knowing what they were talking about, not one bit. He didn't want Merlin getting into something he shouldn't again. He also didn't want anyone to suddenly come round the corner and heard.

"Beszélt a terv_..." _Merlin hissed.

"_Ahhoz, hogy rabszolagava Camalot a bort isznak ma este, es erot a kiraly, hogy leugrike a var.." _Merlin's eyes bulged.

"I can't let you do that," he said sternly. He wasn't going to let this woman do that.

"Do what?" cried Lancelot. Merlin turned and looked at him, frowning confused.

"Didn't you just hear what we said?"

"You were talking in some sort of weird snake like language!" he almost yelled. Merlin was even more confused. He didn't know how to speak any other language apart from English and a little French... How was he speaking some sort of snake language?

The old woman hissed at the two men, causing their attention to be back on her. She took a threatening step towards them in a frightening way. Her body jerked forwards uncontrollably, causing her to fall to one knee, palms flat on the cold, stone floor. The woman's body started to shake out of control, as she brought her hands up to her hood to pull it off. Lancelot grabbed Merlin's arm and dragged him away slowly, but making him run. The woman flung her hood off. A King Cobra the size of Merlin, jumped out at them, reaching them within seconds, leaving a pile of clothes behind where the woman had once been. The snake's mouth was wide open, ready to bite Merlin who was the closest. Merlin grabbed Lancelot's sword from his hands and swung it round, as the snake was an inch from biting him. The warlock swung the sword and with one movement, cut of the snake's head. The creature fell to the floor lifeless.

Lancelot and Merlin stopped and looked at the Cobra with no head.

"I think I just killed Maris's grandmother..." Merlin panted.

"I don't think he's going to be too happy with that," Lancelot commented.

"Nah... I'm," Merlin gulped. "I'm sure he'll be fine with it," Lancelot nodded.

"What _did _she say?" Merlin turned to Lancelot his eyes wide. He turned and sprinted off. Lancelot sighed and cursed, running off after Merlin. "Merlin!" cried the knight.

"She's going to enslave Camelot by the wine they're all going to drink! Then kill the Kings!" He said, not slowing down or looking behind him at the knight. Merlin turned a corner sharply whilst Lancelot had to slow down then speed up again. Since when could Merlin run so fast? Lancelot was finding it hard to keep up with the young servant. No one else was in the corridors as they ran for the Grand hall.

The two burst through the door.

"STOP!" they both screamed as if it was a wedding.

However, they arrived, just as everyone downed their drink...

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><p><strong>Little cliff hanger :)<strong>

**You know what I'm about to say:**

**Review please!**


	6. The bird and the worm

**Second to last chapter people!**

**Enjoy.**

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><p>Merlin and Lancelot stared as everyone downed their drinks.<p>

Too late, were the only two words that were going through Merlin's mind at that moment. Panting for air, the two could only watch. One by one, people finished their drink. Within seconds of the cup being drawn away from their lips, the colour drained from their face, turning a ghostly white. Their lips, turned an icy blue, veins showing clearly on their necks. People dropped their goblets, the pewter making a shattering noise as it hit the ground. The last goblet was dropped and no one reached to the sound. Row after row of people, all standing motionless starting into space. Merlin noticed Gaius in one of the rows and felt a hint of anger, but mainly guilt for not being quick enough to stop him from drinking the wine. Merlin and Lancelot stood there for a moment, unsure of what they should be doing.

"You again!" a sharp voice cried. Maris stepped out from the crowd, his face a fiery red. Lancelot heard Merlin gulp beside him. Maris's eyes suddenly sharpened. "Why is there blood on your top?" he questioned. Merlin looked down to see a spray of blood on him. He wasn't wounded, so it must have been Maris's grandmother's... He was _not _going to take that news well.

"I –"

"You killed her didn't you?" he snarled. He was quite quick with guessing what happened. "Where's the Sphere?" he asked impatiently and immediately.

"What, this?" Lancelot asked, holding up a round metal ball the size of a football.

"How long of you been holding that?" Merlin questioned, confused as to where it had come from.

"Since you killed the old lady. It was in my bag."

"What bag?" Merlin said, suddenly seeing the bag that Lancelot was wearing. Merlin hit has palm on his forehead. He really needed to pay more attention to these things.

"So you did kill her!" Maris looked even madder, making Merlin look terrified. Maris drew his sword and charged at Merlin. Lancelot drew his and blocked Maris's path. Merlin stumbled backwards and fell into a table. He looked up and saw Maris beating Lancelot at a sword fight. Without warning, Lancelot threw the Sphere at Merlin. He caught it with both hands.

The Sphere was quite heavy, but easy for Merlin to hold it. Its shiny surface was good enough to be a mirror. As Merlin held the Sphere with loving care, he felt the great, powerful magic that caged inside, waiting to burst free, waiting to be used. Even though it had no voice, Merlin could hear it calling out to him, calling to be set free.

Lancelot was thrown to the ground, his sword slid across the stone floor out of his hand. Maris held his sword high, ready for the kill. Suddenly, glass smashed over Maris's head. The mad man turned sharply to face Dennis.

"Dennis!" Merlin said in joy.

"I heard ya Merlin when you burst in, I heard ya," he said smiling. His smile was wiped off his face as Maris cut his sword across Dennis's arm then barged into him. Dennis skidded across the floor, leaving a small, smudged trail of blood behind him. Panicking, Merlin grabbed a goblet off the floor and threw it at the back of Maris's head. Maris stopped, dead, in his tracks. He turned sharply on his heels and faced Merlin.

"Run Merlin!" Dennis called. Merlin didn't need to be told twice, he was running for the door as soon as Dennis finished say 'run', picking up Lancelot's sword as he went. Maris's gave chase straight away, trying to leave as little of a gap between them as possible.

Dennis really was right; Merlin was the best at running away from scary things.

Moreover, Maris was a terrifying thing.

Merlin ran down the corridor with sword and Sphere in hands. It wasn't easy to run whilst holding both objects, but Merlin was running for his _life, _he didn't care. He didn't need to look back to know that Maris was close. The man was the bird and he was the worm...

The bird always eats the worm...

Merlin suddenly came to a crossroad in the castle. Maris suddenly turned the corner and Merlin randomly picked one. He ran right, clutching the Sphere tightly to his chest, making it slightly easier for him to run. After running for a couple more minutes, Merlin realised that his feet where taking him towards the battlements of the castle.

Bursting through the door and then slamming it shut behind him, Merlin scanned the area for somewhere to hide. Maris banged on the door, screaming and shouting, demanding for the door to be let open. Unable to hold the door any longer, Merlin ran forward - in the darkness of the night – along the battlements. The door bust off its hinges, just missing Merlin as he ran. Maris ran straight for Merlin with no hesitation. Maris gained his speed quickly and as the man raised his sword to strike, there was only one thing for Merlin to do. He rolled the Sphere on the floor and turned round, both men's swords clashing together. Merlin knew that Maris was the better swordsman out of the two of them, but something inside of him dared to challenge Maris.

Merlin forced Maris to step backwards and make a space between them. Maris charged at Merlin and Merlin blocked his attack then went to slash his sword against his leg, only to be blocked as expected. Maris went to take a swipe at cutting Merlin's head off, but the young warlock ducked down then went to drive his sword into the man's gut. His move was blocked as expected. Maris moved quickly and bashed his sword against Merlin's, forcing the young man to take steps backwards. Merlin locked their swords and ended up leaning over a battlement.

Merlin kicked Maris's shin and then pushed him backwards. Maris stumbled and nearly fell over backwards. The full moon in the night sky rained its light down on them. The last thing Merlin saw of Maris was the outline of the rage on his face. The man ran forward, sword pointed straight at Merlin. The young Warlock jumped out of the way and Maris was unable to stop himself in time. He went towering over the battlements, and fell to his cold death. Merlin paused before he looked over the battlements to see his deformed body flattened onto the steps by the doors bellow.

Just a few second after Maris's body hit the ground, Lancelot and Dennis came rushing out of the doors, stopping dead at the sight of the man's body. Lancelot looked up to see Merlin looking down; Dennis stayed looking at the body.

"Looks like birdie couldn't fly," Dennis said, holding his wounded arm. He looked up and Merlin.

Merlin looked down at Maris's body and at his two friends. Out of all the deaths he had seen, this one would haunt him the most. Merlin walked over to the Sphere. He picked it up and heard its power. Whispers of voices floated into his head. He walked over to the edge with the Sphere. Without thinking if what he was doing was right or wrong, Merlin threw the Sphere over the battlements.

It flew through the air helplessly until it hit the ground. It was a metal ball, but smashed like glass, the whole thing suddenly turning into a fragile crystal. Parts of it slid over the different parts of the courtyard like ice. Unknown to Merlin and the others at the time, the spell on the people who had drunken the wine, was broken. Looking down at Maris's body, a wave of relief had somehow flooded over him, as a small threat toward Camelot had been dealt with. Was he going to get any thanks for it? Not likely.

Merlin turned and started to walk towards the door to go see if everyone else was okay, and get Gaius to tend to Dennis. The Games Of All were almost over, and then Merlin could go back to his simple life of saving Camelot and running around after Arthur and Gaius, not being given a second thought too by many. Merlin liked it like that. Just him, being the simple idiot that he is...

The bird always eats the worm...

Nevertheless, the worm can turn...

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><p><strong>I worked very hard on this chapter. I had big time writers bloke on it, so I hope it was okay.<strong>

**You know what to do…**

…**Review please!**


	7. The worm wins

**Last chapter!**

**I'd like to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed, put this story on their favourites and put it on story alert.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Merlin stood still whilst George did his armour. The day had finally come for the last game of the Games Of All. Sword fighting. Merlin dreaded the thought of having to fight. He only had to do it because he was Arthur's servant, the <em>Prince's <em>servant. They both stood in the tent that they shared for getting ready. It was bright red with a table and chairs. George wasn't meant to be in his tent, it was for him and Denis only, and the boy should be with the other servants getting ready. However, because of Denis's arm, he was unable to fight, and Merlin needed someone to help him with his armour. George finished doing his armour and Merlin moved his arms and legs to get used to it. He then picked up George's armour and started to get him ready for a fight. Even though George was one of the most likely people not to be scared, he could feel the boy shaking a bit.

"How can you not be nervous?" George asked calmly looking at the floor. Merlin shrugged.

"I'm just not," he replied, picking up another part of his armour.

"Really, how are you not?" a voice from behind the two asked. They both turned to see Arthur standing at the door. George bowed, muttering a quick 'Sire' then picking up his armour and heading out to where the other servants were. He left the tent quickly and quietly. Arthur watched him go then turned back to Merlin. "Who the hell is that?" he asked.

"George, a servant."

"No wonder I've never heard of him," Arthur said walking forward. "I barely know half the servants in the castle," he said, taking a seat. Merlin looked down and picked up his hooded cape. It was a bright red with a golden dragon on the back of it. It was easy to tell he was a Camelot servant. He didn't pick up his mask. If he did, Arthur would know when he was fighting and that would ruin the whole idea of the game.

Not meant to know who the fighter is until the end.

"So, why aren't you nervous?" Arthur questioned again. Merlin swung his cape over his shoulders and tied it up.

"I've fought worse things with you, Arthur," he replied.

"Yah, but you can't sword fight," the young Prince said back.

"Dennis has taught me well, I'm better than I was before," Merlin said thinking back to the fight he had with Maris on the battlements. He picked up his sword and looked at it. How many men had used this sword before him? Whose was it originally?

Arthur stood up and walked over to Merlin. He placed a strong reassuring hand on his shoulder. The boy looked up at Arthur.

"I came to wish you luck," he said smiling. Merlin smiled. "And the knights wish it to you too," he added. Merlin's smile widens.

"Did Gwen and the serving girls bully you into saying that?" he asked, almost laughing.

"We weren't bullied, Merlin."

"Oh, no, of course not," Merlin said innocently shaking his head.

"No," Arthur said.

"No," Merlin repeated.

"More... They wouldn't leave us alone until we did as they asked."

"You mean they bullied you."

"Shut up Merlin," the Prince snapped. Merlin nodded. An awkward silence fell upon the two of them and after a moment Arthur walked out to go claim his seat.

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><p>Merlin was standing by the edge of the ring watching as two helpers carried a wounded man's body off the field. Merlin had his mask on, plain white with sparkly green ivy patterned on it, going from the bottom right corner of his face to his top left. Butterflies suddenly danced about in Merlin's stomach like frogs leaping. He clutched his sword tightly, knuckles turning a ghostly white. He was finding it hard to control his breathing, but was doing okay for the moment.<p>

Merlin looked out into the ring to see his opponent ready and waiting for him. He was a man from Credulus looking just a bit taller than Merlin. At first looks, you could mistake him for a knight, but he was really just another servant. He was going to be just as good as Merlin was or worse… maybe even better. Merlin shook his head. He should not be thinking like that.

Merlin was too busy watching the crowd shout and cheer to notice Dennis walk up beside him.

"His armor's damaged most on the back of his left leg. If you hit him, there hard enough he should just collapse. He's also most vulnerable on his lower half of his body," the man informed him. Merlin looked to his side slightly to see that Dennis had a cast on. He looked back and nodded.

"Thank you Dennis," Merlin said. Dennis nodded and slapped Merlin's back. The young Warlock walked forward into the ring.

The formerly settled crowd now screamed and shouted, clapping and cheering with enthusiasm. Most of the people in the crowd were people of Camelot so Merlin wasn't surprised that he was getting the most cheers. He walked slowly toward the centre of the ring, stopping when he was about a meter away from his opponent. Uther stood and raised his arm. The crowd fell silent waiting for the fight to begin. The silence stretched out for long than it should have.

Uther dropped his hand.

His opponent ran at him and swung his sword at Merlin's left side. Merlin blocked the attack, then the two that the man tried to give to his lower right side. Merlin spun round to let his sword meet the other man's on his right side. Merlin pushed the man away making him take a few steps backwards. The man swung his sword around before striking forward and trying to hit Merlin's left side again. Merlin blocked the attack, and then tried to hit the man's right leg. Merlin's attack was blocked as planned. Merlin then fooled the man into thinking that he was about to strike his upper body on the right side, but at the last second changed his move with a strike that hit his left leg.

Merlin's opponent fell to the floor on his knees. The crowd both cheered and booed as the fight went on. For a second, Merlin was lost as to what he was meant to do. Merlin's hesitation almost lost him the fight. The man, with his sword, hit Merlin on his left leg and pushed him backwards. Merlin fell to the ground and lay there flat. His opponent got to his feet quickly, kicked Merlin's sword out of his hand and placed the end of his sword on Merlin's neck.

He'd lost…

"Surrender…" the man, hissed. Merlin had to say surrender or the man had full right to hurt him until he did. It wasn't how a normal fight would happen, but they had changed the rules for the servants.

Merlin looked to his side to see Arthur standing up leaning over the side of the railings and shouting something. Uther was talking to a King, he was handing some money over to him. The King's were placing bets, and Uther had just lost because he, Merlin, had lost. He looked to the side of them to see his friends, Gwaine, Percival, Leon, Lancelot, Elyan and Gwen all cheering at him. He bent his neck back to look at the side of the ring. He saw Dennis and George shouting too, and even Gaius was shouting. However, he had showed Gaius his mask, so he did know it was he.

"Surrender…" the man, insisted again. Merlin looked at him. Through the mask, he could see clear blue eyes. Merlin shook his head, locking the man's eyes with his.

"Never…" Merlin reached for his sword, "ever…" the man didn't notice that Merlin was reaching for the sword, "will I surrender," Merlin said, grabbing his sword. The man tore his eyes away from Merlin's, but was too late to do anything.

Merlin hit the man on the side of the head with the handle of his sword. The man rolled onto the floor and got to his feet as quickly as Merlin had. The man ran at him, but Merlin just took a step to his side and stuck out his foot. The man went head first down and onto the ground. The crowd roared with laughter. Merlin smiled. The man got up again and slammed his shoulder into Merlin's, sending him flying towards the floor. The man was turned slightly to the side and Merlin took this opportunity to kick the back of his left leg. The man fell onto his back on the ground and Merlin jumped to his feet and pressed the end of his sword to the man's neck.

Merlin smiled behind his mask, looking down on the man.

"Surrender…" Merlin said.

"I surrender," the man whispered.

"Pardon?" Merlin asked and the man sighed.

"I surrender!" he shouted loud enough for everyone to hear and everyone cheered. Merlin took the sword away and offered his hand to the man. The man happily took it and Merlin helped him up.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see two of the Kings giving Uther money and Arthur roaring with amusement.

Maybe the Games Of All, weren't so bad after all…

* * *

><p><strong>Bit of a mean ending I personally think <strong>

**Hope you all enjoyed this story. I enjoyed writing it.**

**Look out for my name as another Merlin story should be up and running sooner or later… I have three ideas at the moment that I want to write, but just can't choose!**

**Review please!**


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